Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS vs Wells Station Elementary

Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS and Wells Station Elementary are both top-ranked Memphis elementary schools, separated by just 0.1 points overall — 9.4/10 versus 9.3/10. That slim gap masks a more meaningful difference in state standing: Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS ranks #11 of 1,785 Tennessee schools while Wells Station Elementary ranks #17 of 1,785, placing both in the top 1% statewide but with Ida B. Wells six positions higher in a deep field.

On academics, Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS scores 8.4/10 versus Wells Station Elementary's 8.3/10 — a one-tenth-point difference that is functionally a tie. Growth tells the same story: both schools earn identical 9.8/10 growth scores, meaning students at each school advance at an equally exceptional pace relative to comparable peers. Neither school has a material edge in how fast students learn once enrolled.

The enrollment and staffing numbers are where these schools diverge sharply. Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS serves 98 students against Wells Station Elementary's 633, and that size difference drives a stark ratio gap — 6.1 students per teacher at Ida B. Wells versus 12.7 at Wells Station. A parent placing a child in Ida B. Wells can expect roughly half the class density and considerably more individual teacher contact time. Wells Station, for its part, operates at a scale that typically supports broader extracurricular offerings and more peer interaction across grade levels.

Grade span is another structural difference to weigh. Ida B. Wells Academy ES/MS covers kindergarten through eighth grade, meaning a family could keep a child in the same building from age five through middle school. Wells Station Elementary runs pre-K through fifth grade only, so families will face a school transition after fifth grade. For parents with a pre-kindergarten child, Wells Station offers the earlier entry point — Ida B. Wells does not serve pre-K.